CHAPTER FOURTEEN

They are seating in the emergency unit for families, Adam has his face in his hands, Meredith is sitting at the corner and Richard is standing there, watching the theater door.

Gerald is quiet..staring into nothingness.

Marybeth, is with the other nurses running in and out..

Its been a couple of hours, not a word.
“If she dies, you die too” Adam says to the man across from him, there were two policemen standing on either side of them

As soon as they brought Thelma in and rushed her into one of the rooms, Adam had grabbed his father shaking him, telling him it was his fault his mother fell down the stairs, if he wasn’t being the way he was, they would have noticed her trying to wheel herself downstairs and would have stopped her, she fell..hitting her head and blood splattered everywhere, if she died he was going to damn it all to hell and become the murderer Gerald had always accused him off.

Gerald hits him off, grabs Adam in turn and blames it on him, that if he had left or died along time ago, his wife Thelma wouldn’t have been sick , his son would have been alive and he wouldn’t have been fighting with him at the foot of the stairs while Thelma rolled down to her fall. If Thelma died , it was his fault, he killed everyone he touches, Adam was a death to them all..he should have died that day instead of Damien. No, he should have died right in Thelma’s womb.

It had to take the security personnel of the hospital to keep them apart, and threatens them to a prison cell for disrupting the peace of the hospital to keep them calm.

Adam was scared, scared to hear bad news.

Gerald had maybe wished over time that he was left alone with his misery..but at this moment, seeing her..at the floor, bleeding, not knowing if she was dead or not..or if she would survive, fear grips him..
Fear he didn’t know he would feel if she dies..

The doctor comes out, followed by Marybeth, they rush to him

“I am sorry, she is in a coma. She lost a lot of blood as she hit the ground with her head, internal bleeding which caused a swelling. We tried everything we could, she went into a coma and the swelling is increasing at the moment. We can opt for surgery-“

“Then do it…I don’t care about the cost” Gerald cuts in

“The surgery is just a 20/100 chance, she might die.” The Doctor says

“And with the coma?” Adam asks, expectant for some good news.

“She has a few hours at the most, or maybe days. If the swelling and the bleeding doesn’t stop..she will die.”

Adam felt his throat closing “Do something doctor”

“We are, but right now…its already too delicate, she was a sick woman, she had paralysis and even if..this fall was huge, she might become a vegetable even if she makes it.. she would be brain dead.”

‘’Oh my God” Meredith gasps

“So what do we do..doctor? “ Gerald’s voice cracks

“Make her little time as comfortable as possible. I suggest you say your finale goodbyes, she can hear you..it would bring her peace in her last moments. I am sorry” he says “You can see her now, just family please” he nods to Marybeth

“OH MY GOD” Gerald staggers, Richard comes to him

“Sir”

“You did this , you took my son and now my wife’’ he grabs Adam, slowly Adam begins to accept that it’s his fault…

“I killed them both… i killed them both” he says

Marybeth grabs Gerald and shakes him “Look around you.. look around you. You are in the hospital, your wife is dying, she is dying and she is the only connection to your late son, the mother of your sons’’

“Damien is my only son, Adam isn’t my so—“

“I DON’T CARE I DON’T!!! Thelma is fighting for her life in there, and she is dying. She has given you the best of her youthful years, doesn’t matter what you think but you owe it to her as her husband and the father of her sons to be there with her, not fighting with Adam about whose fault it is. You both thought about yourself and ignored that woman for years, you both put her in that state ..you both. Your son died, Damien was her son too.. Damien was his brother too”

Marybeth points to Adam
“..And you both held onto that pain as though he only was connected to you both. That woman is dying, right this minute she might breath her last and still you just fight… you both are shameless and you don’t deserve a woman like that..she cries every night calling out for Damien, she calls your name Gerald, talking about how you brought her flowers and talk about your mother, how you both used to dance..was happy.. how in love you both were and you Adam..’’ she turns to Adam

“You keep talking about your pain.. what about his pain, your father’s, what about Thelma’s pain. You claim to love Damien the most you refuse to see that they loved him the most too. It’s not all about you… it’s not. Why didn’t you ever talk to him , tell him your pains and listen to his.. why didn’t you. Instead you both fought and fought and hated each other, “ she turned back to Gerald

“I don’t know whatever caused that hatred and quite frankly I don’t care. I don’t, but all I care about is that woman lying in there in coma who may die any minute now or fighting to stay alive to see her family come back together. Every single time she became lucid and focused on me.. she always talks about you both.. praying for the day you consider each other as family but ever since I walked into your house all I see is brokenness, hatred and the constant fights, throwing away something people on the streets are begging to have. I lost my parents, there is never a day that goes by I don’t pray for them to come back..and here, you lost a son, a brother but you still have yourselves ..your mother and all you do is fight to kill it.. you both are disgraceful and I am glad that Thelma isn’t awake to see how you both are.” she cleans her eyes , but tears keep falling, Meredith and Richard are staring at her shocked, the emergency unit is quiet. Adam and Gerald are shocked speechless as Marybeth screams out at the top of her voices to them,

“I don’t’ care how you do it, I don’t, but if you can’t give her a little peace even in her end..just leave and let her die in peace. But if you both are going to go into that room , for pete’s sake give her what she wants the most in the world, her family. The love that she had lacked from her family for years, close the void you both created and show her the reason why she fell in love with you in the first Gerald and why she loved you enough as her son Adam, and help her remember her lost son too, Damien..and maybe that her heart won’t feel lonely anymore. You wrote a book Adam about everything hoping she might get to read it when she is well..well guess what, she may never read it..so why don’t you go in there and pour out those emotion to her hearing, pages of that book might stay forever but Thelma, Thelma might not live another day..so you both have better decide what you want..or we would have the security escort you out, because a life is at stake and there are more important things in life other than your over sized egos..My GOD!!!”

She walks away leaving them standing there..

*****

She is beside Thelma’s bed, the monitor beeping.. she had come to love this little framed woman ..and she wished she had met her earlier, maybe she would have brought a bit of sunshine into her life, just maybe.

It saddens her that this was happening and she felt it was partly her fault, if she hadn’t come, maybe Thelma would have been back in her room, alone, quiet..safe.

She cleans her eyes as the door creeps open, Adam walks in, followed by Gerald, she made to leave , Gerald stops her, she looks up ..surprised

“stay , please” he says, “You seem to be more of a family to her in this short period of time than us”

She nods moving back

“What do we do”? Adam says going to Thelma. Taking one hand in his

“Talk to her” Marybeth says

“About what, ?”

“Anything”

Gerald nods going to the other side..
Him and Adam don’t talk to each other, they don’t even look at each other as both hold her hands on either side.

But at least they were in the same room with each other and not fighting.

That was a good progress

*******

Adam talks to her about everything, he talks to her about Damien, Marybeth notices Gerald tense, but he doesn’t say anything.

He talks about his writing, about securing a job contract with the Mayor, about quitting drinking and smoking since the accident, about a possible tour and even dreams of owning a publishing and book firm, travelling the world and taking her with him. He talks, he laughs, he cries..he lets it all out. He tells her about his book..everything in it.
He never once mentions Gerald when he spoke about family

Gerald felt the strings to his heart pull, it felt strange.

He never cared for this boy, never did and he never felt bad for it.
But right now, this moment..it was like seeing his wife in this near death state and realizing he was going to truly lose her and have Marybeth talk some sense into him, he had realized something..

They both loved Thelma, they both loved Damien…and their mutual hate for each other only further drove the family apart.. and brought nothing but grief, pain , misery..and more hatred.

And as much as he felt pain for losing his son Damien, he never realized that Adam felt such pain for losing his brother too and that this also caused Thelma’s sickness .

It was both their fault Thelma was in this state.. but it was his that caused it from the beginning.

He didn’t want her to die. He was angry and bitter for so long he forgot to be forgiving. Forgot to accept his own part in it. Forgot to truly blame himself for his lapses and poured it all on Thelma and Adam, and because of his anger ..their anger…they would lose Thelma too.

This realization hits him so hard he didn’t realize when the tears start to fall and his heart began to close.. choking him he cries out.

“I am sorry..Thelma” he bursts out, rubbing her hands’ ‘’ I am so sorry” he says “Don’t leave me too, I promise I would make it better I promise…I will do anything Thelma, forgive me..stay please” he cries

Shock causes Adam and Marybeth to turn and look at him..

Gerald breaks down..as he begins to recount the past, the reason..where it all began and why

*****

“It was after a few months we got married. The Gibson Cruz family wasn’t wealthy until much later, but then, I was a struggling young man who had come for Thelma’s hand.

Going against her family, Thelma and I married and eloped. Reconciliation happened later but for 5 years, I and Thelma lived on little. As a scientist looking for his niche, I couldn’t get a good job and decided to work part time as a clerk, an errand and a service provider as an handyman, a mechanic and a deliveryman on certain days, this I did for a year as we go by. But life wasn’t easy.

Thelma loved to bake so she baked and worked in the library on weekends, babysits for nursing mothers too, and sold her flowers at the market. The money coming in wasn’t enough to cover our daily living, our house or her little garden where she groomed her flowers. Her parents would only help if she divorced me and returned home, but for love Thelma refused and they sever all ties with her.

We loved each other, but love wasn’t enough.

Soon the fights began, when the lights went off, when the food wasn’t enough, when our rent bills were behind, when we couldn’t afford anything to go by, a decent three square meals, expenses, etc love wasn’t enough. And thus we had to work more.

Until Mr Jackson Onel offered me a job at the Mine, a pay higher than what I had in my last two jobs.

So I happily accepted, it would make us comfortable but kept me out two weeks away from home and Thelma .
I should have asked why Jackson wanted to help me… Why Jackson suddenly paid me any mind.

Jackson helped people because it helped himself.

While Thelma supplied bread and flowers to their office, he had gone from asking her which she refused reminding him that she was married, to pestering her and to eventually $3xually harassing her.

Thelma , not knowing how to tell me had stopped going to his office, and just like David in the bible, seeing another’s man wife and wanting her for himself, Jackson had reached out to me, playing it on coincidence about a job opening in his construction site in one of the Mines he was handling, and me seeing a good job opportunity had taken it without question, despite Thelma’s protest. Fighting with her and saying she didn’t want my progress and if she liked us to remain poor and unable to take care of ourselves, but I didn’t know all this at the time.

So I left. Jackson extended his visits and harassment to our home and threatened her saying he would have me arrested if she reported him.

And so one day, Thelma gets a call from me, one of the construction sites had blown up, someone forgot to turn off the underground pipe and lit a cigar.

I and some friends were smoking the night before, I left them and went to bed, by morning, we were told there was a fire, hard months work gone up in smoke
They were calling for our heads but I, I wasn’t there. I didn’t smoke with them but I knew no one left a cigar burning, but someone had died in the explosion and they found my lighter amongst the ruins.
I was being charged for manslaughter and destruction of the construction Mine site. I had sent her to plead my case to the boss, Jackson Onel, and nothing she said to dissuade me from sending her worked. I felt she didn’t care enough
Jackson was expecting her, and he offered her a way out for me, to be his mistress, no one would know, and I would be set free immediately and charges dropped.

Thelma had refused at first, but by the fortnight the police came for me, threws me into the cell, tortured me to confess to a crime I didn’t commit.

“He would die in there, the family wants blood, his case would never get to court..he would die in there and no one would hear …unless you give me what I want Thelma” Jackson said to her constantly.

Thelma sort other means to help me, but no one wanted to hear my case or take it up

“He killed a man’’ they said “he had a family”
“He didn’t..help him” she begged

“His carelessness did. We can’t help you” they replied

A month in the cell, starved, beaten..broken, Thelma couldn’t bear it anymore

“I will get you out Gerald, I can’t leave you like this” she told me one day

“Nothing can be done Thelma, I will die here” I tell her, barely able to stand, nor talk

“I will..even if it means to dine with the devil”

“what do you mean ..Thelma, Thelma” but she was gone.

I was released two days later, given my job back with a higher pay and the case was dropped like nothing had happened.

“I noticed Thelma grew quiet, sadder..distant, no matter how many times I asked what was wrong she told me nothing. Whenever the guys from work came around she hid herself.. whenever Jackson made a courtesy visit…she.. gets angry, irritated. I didn’t know why.

“A month later I was sent out of state for work, but I finished early and came back home to surprise Thelma..we haven’t been spending time together and I wanted to treat her nice, but I got home and found him, Jackson on her..and my wife, my Thelma..was crying as he sweated on her but she didn’t push him away..she didn’t..with a blinding rage I lurch for him, not stopping until I felt his skull crack and Thelma pulling me away.. he barely survived, he pushed her causing her to hit her head as he runs, scared I rush her to the hospital..” Gerald sniffs

Adam is speechless
Gerald continuous “ I was going to kill him, I wanted to. So I went in search for him but he told me, he was my wife’s lover, I should be thankful to her for saving my head. Blinded by rage I came back, hoping she tells me it was a lie but instead she breaks down to confess, telling me how he had threatened her, forced her, how she wanted to save me.

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Stephanie Egberike is a graduate of the University of Port Harcourt, where she studied Sociology.
She runs an Ushering and Events Agency based in Port Harcourt called " De-vonte".
When she is not busy chasing life and hustling on the bright side of the streets, she is a prolific writer, content developer and a creative story teller.
She writes creative short story series for Www.Madivas.com, on their African stories categories amongst others.
When she isn't writing she is busy enjoying life, loving her family and being a free spirit.
She is a lover , a friend , a child , a bosslady, God’s own. And she likes to call her fingers "ItchyFingers".. A big smiler and an indepth thinker.

Sterile?If Adam isn’t ur son den who is Damien’s father? I also see d Nurse bringing d family together. Pls drop d remaining episode quickly i’m addicted to checking for d next episode every minutes. Kudos to u guys for a job well done.

Steph… if I may. You are surely gifted… what an amazing piece of work. This could be a series that will make viewers long for the next episode. Have you ever thought of that possibility? Kudos to you..